What is Tabloid Press?

The 1980s saw the popular press retreat from political journalism towards an increasing dependence on sex, sensation and symbiosis with tv’s brand of mass popular culture. They were more dependent on circulation than advertising and this circulation was boosted by more reliance on celebrity gossips, scandals and non-serious news. This trend resulted in the emergence of the concept of tabloidization .

Tabloidization may refer to an increase in news about celebs , entertainment, lifestyle features, personal issues, an increase in sensationalism, in the use of pictures and sloganized  headlines ,vulgar language and a decrese in international news, public affairs news including politics, the redction in the length of words in a story, the reduction of the complexity of langage and also a convergence with agendas of popular, and in particular, tv culture.

Tabloid journalism often concerns itself with the private lives of celebrities, including their sexual practices and drug use. It contains stories and gossip columns about celebrities and sports stars, junk food news and astrology. Some small-format papers with a high standard of journalism refer to themselves as compact newspapers to distinguish them from tabloids.

Notable publications engaging in tabloid journalism include the National Enquirer, National Examiner, Globe and New York Post in North America; and the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, Daily Star, Daily Record, Sunday Mail, The Sun and the former News of the World in the United Kingdom.

BEGINNINGS

The beginnings of early tabloid journalism can be traced back to Alfred Harmsworth. A successful newspaper publisher in the United Kingdom, during the late 1800's and early 1900's, Harmsworth purchased a few newspapers, which were not financially successful and on the verge of failing. Transforming them into what we now classify as tabloids, the public's ever growing hunger for dirty laundry increased circulation, sales, and of course, advertising revenue. One of his best known publications still survives today, and is one of the most popular publications in the U.K.; this newspaper is known as "The Daily Mail."

SUPERMARKET TABLOIDS

In the United States and Canada, "supermarket tabloids" are large, national versions of these tabloids, usually published weekly. They are named for their prominent placement along the checkout lines of supermarkets. Supermarket tabloids are particularly notorious for the over-the-top sensationalizing of stories, the facts of which can often be called into question.[citation needed] These tabloids—such as The Globe  The National Enquirer—often use aggressive and usually mean-spirited tactics to sell their issues.

RED TOPS

Tabloid newspapers in the United Kingdom, tend to be simply and sensationally written and to give more prominence than broadsheets to celebrities, sports, crime stories, and even hoaxes. They are so named due to their tendency, in British and Commonwealth usage, to have their mastheads printed in red ink.

These tabloids take political positions on news stories: ridiculing politicians, demanding resignations, and predicting election results.

Examples are The Sun, the Daily Star, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Record and the Daily Sport.

FEATURES OF A TABLOID

Tabloids tend to be irreverent and slangy in their writing style. They tend to be written with a simplistic, straightforward vocabulary and grammar language to appeal to as wide a readership as possible. while a broadsheet might spend dozens of column inches on "serious" news - say, a major bill being debated in Congress - a tabloid is more likely to zero in on a heinous sensational crime story or celebrity gossip. Since tabloids are smaller, their stories tend to be shorter than those found in broadsheets.

beyond the front page, they tend to focus on human interest stories with a lot of celebrity gossip and show business news. Their layout tends to give greater prominence to the picture than to the word. Tabloids tend to rely on brash headlines and large dramatic pictures to hook their readers.

The majority of tabloids report in a lurid or "slimy" style, concentrating on the darker side of the lives of celebrities. These publications are usually published on a weekly basis, and the attention grabbing headlines are almost always about a dysfunctional family, divorce, drinking problem, etc. Tabloids rarely report on anything which may be considered "positive."

These newspapers are distinguished from the major daily newspapers, in that they purport to offer an "alternative" viewpoint, either in the sense that the paper's editors are more locally oriented, or that the paper is editorially independent from major media conglomerates.

 READERSHIP

Broadsheets have been associated with a high-minded approach to the dissemination of news, and with an upscale readership. Their readers often tend to be fairly affluent and educated, with many of them living in the suburbs.

In contrast , tabloid readers are often working-class residents of big cities. Indeed, many city dwellers prefer tabloids because they are easy to carry and read on the subway or bus.

CHALLENGES

Tabloid Journalism is a specific type of journalism which is often discounted by what many consider to be "true journalism. Usually placed at grocery store checkout counters  many give these papers very little credibility

The writing style of tabloids is accused of sensationalism; in other words,they have been accused of deliberately igniting controversy and selectively reporting on attention-grabbing stories, or those with shock value. In the extreme case, they tabloids have been accused of lying or misrepresenting the truth to increase circulation.

THE MOST NOTABLE CONTROVERSY REGARDING TABLOIDS WAS THE  ​phone-hacking scandal and the closing of the News of the World, one of Britain's biggest tabs. In many cases, celebrities have even sued these tabloids, demonstrating that tabloid stories have defamed them.

THEIR RECENT challenge is the growth of online news, which has made gossips readily available to the public thus impact their circulation and popularity.  The erosion of print advertising revenues and the expansion of celebrity and lifestyle magazines have also affected their traditional business model.

FUTURE

While tabloid journalism may not be perceived as important or credible, the truth is that this style of reporting does hold a place in our world and is not likely to go away any time soon. It is a very profitable industry that helps fuel the economy, and it gives ordinary people the kind of stuff that they wish to know about.

 

-Compiled by Nimisha Bansal, Student of Journalism, LSR